Your View: Remember your pets during cold snap

Friday

Jan 25, 2013 at 12:01 AM

If you are a pet owner accustomed to letting your cat or dog outdoors, please rethink doing so, if at all possible. With the bone-chilling temperatures we have been experiencing, pets left outdoors for lengths of time while owners are at work or running errands and the like are susceptible to frostbite and hypothermia just as we are. Wearing a fur coat does not automatically equate with warmth, and dog houses, while providing shelter from rain and snow, may provide little, if any, warmth.

BEVERLY DAYS

If you are a pet owner accustomed to letting your cat or dog outdoors, please rethink doing so, if at all possible. With the bone-chilling temperatures we have been experiencing, pets left outdoors for lengths of time while owners are at work or running errands and the like are susceptible to frostbite and hypothermia just as we are. Wearing a fur coat does not automatically equate with warmth, and dog houses, while providing shelter from rain and snow, may provide little, if any, warmth.

Winter poses other hazards for pets as well. Cats and dogs are drawn by the sweet smell and taste of antifreeze, used both in the home and in cars, which, if ingested, requires immediate, emergency veterinary treatment to (hopefully) prevent the animal's death. Using extreme caution when using antifreeze products, cleaning spills and keeping pets inside the home during usage is imperative.

Cracked paw pads from walking on road salt/sand can result in infection and health problems when the cat or dog grooms itself, licking off the chemicals, again requiring veterinary attention (Washing paws and fur is recommended by animal experts and organizations).

Warm car engines are havens for cold cats. We can imagine the tragic consequence. (Experts recommend thumping on the car's hood to evacuate the engine nester.)

And cats and dogs risk injury and death if they dart out into the street and are struck by an oncoming vehicle because the motorist was unable to see them behind the piles of snow on the sides of a driveway or roadway.

We motorists are conditioned to watch for people, especially children, behind those snowbanks. We need to be aware that a cat or dog may be hidden behind them, as well.

Ideally, a pet should be kept indoors year-round. However, there is always the cat who vociferously demands to be let out, trying our patience until we finally acquiesce to the little tyrant. And dogs need outdoor time. Yet if we limit the amount of time we allow our pet to be outdoors, we can effectively avoid the dangers of extreme weather conditions. (We may need to monitor the cat's activity so it doesn't stray from the yard.)

A litter box eliminates the need for a cat to go out.

Rambunctious or destructive pets can be confined to one room or area of the house, which can be pet-proofed, when the owner is absent.

An owner walking a dog controls its activity and outdoor exposure. With the number of homeless animals, the family cat or dog should be sheltered inside the family home, especially when we restrict the time we ourselves spend out in inclement weather and summer heat.

The time and any effort that it takes — and perhaps it is more patience — to protect our pet is well worth the return of its unconditional love.

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